The BIG Brother’s Prerogative

Future Battle

• Behold a day is coming!– YHWH will bring all nations

to fight against Jerusalem (2)

– Amid great suffering and loss the enemy will capture the city

• YHWH God will appear as a ginormous man on the Mount of Olives (4)– Mountain will split under his feet (4b), creating an east-

west valley > way for Jewish survivors to flee and a route for the LORD’s victory march to Zion

• Amos 4:13; 9:5Amos 4:13; 9:5– ““Look who's here: Mountain-Shaper! Look who's here: Mountain-Shaper!

Wind-Maker! He laid out the whole plot Wind-Maker! He laid out the whole plot before Adam. He brings everything out of before Adam. He brings everything out of nothing, like dawn out of darkness. He nothing, like dawn out of darkness. He strides across the alpine ridges. His strides across the alpine ridges. His name is God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies… name is God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies… My Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, My Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, touches the earth, a mere touch, and it touches the earth, a mere touch, and it trembles. The whole world goes into trembles. The whole world goes into mourning.”mourning.”

• Zechariah:Zechariah: Not just power over Not just power over naturalnatural world but power over world but power over HISTORY and the PEOPLES of HISTORY and the PEOPLES of this world!this world!– A great day is comingA great day is coming when the when the

LORD will punish the wicked and LORD will punish the wicked and provide a way for the remaining provide a way for the remaining faithful to escape His terrible wrathfaithful to escape His terrible wrath

Judgment Day Is Still ComingBut the Day of Our Salvation Is Here!

Romans 5:6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

Resurrected Hopes & Dreams!

Romans 5:9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no

longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the

sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will

expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in

plodding prose.

We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!